Friday, March 27, 2009

Test-drove the new joint that took over the Cafe des Artiste's spot in California Tower, Union J, opened by two Jean-George alums who hail from the Big Apple. They define their cuisine as "New American", whatever that means, but it sure tastes good. Variety is in abundance when it comes to eateries in Central, and restaurants come and go, but hopefully, this one's here to stay, because the food is good and the price point affordable as well. (It's billed as the place for business lunchers and fine-food lovers who've been suffering from wallet woes of late.)

I can't really describe what it is that made me enjoy the dining experience so much, but everything is just very... fresh. They don't do anything super-fancy or innovative, but what they do cook, they cook well -- the flavours are all in harmony, bursting to greet your tongue. There, that's probably the best endorsement I can give.

The menu is divided into three sections of six dishes each, for a total of 18 dishes (yes, Shoe Geek can do math) that will be refined/updated every couple of weeks. If you're there and they're on the menu, try the crab appetizer thingy with horseradish (can do math, cannot remember dish names...), the lamb tagliatelle and above all, the 70% chocolate cake. Molten chocolate cakes are a dime a dozen nowadays, but this one, forgive the expression, really takes the cake. It's endearingly paired with a very-authentic pistachio ice cream, a bizarre yet perfect union that pretty much sums up the philosophy of this place.

Forgive the crappy photo and lack of food shots, blame the iPhone cam and my overeagerness to dig into the food before photographing them. I'll try procure more shots later today.